Do you have a penchant for sculptures? If so, head to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston this Sunday for the closing day of "Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963–2017," the first major exhibition dedicated to sculptures by renowned American contemporary artist Jack Whitten. Don’t miss it on May 26th, beginning at 12:15 p.m.!
Although Whitten (1939–2018) has long been celebrated for his work as an innovative abstract painter, this presentation reveals an extensive and entirely unknown body of his work. “Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963–2017" will feature 40 of Whitten’s sculptures made over the course of his five-decade career - each created with a diverse spectrum of materials, including wood, marble, copper, bone, fishing wire, and personal mementos. A selection of his paintings will also be present.
Born in Bessemer, Alabama in 1939, Jack Whitten is celebrated for his innovative processes of applying paint to the surface of his canvases and transfiguring their material terrains. Although Whitten initially aligned with the New York circle of abstract expressionists active in the 1960s, his work gradually distanced from the movement’s aesthetic philosophy and formal concerns, focusing more intensely on the experimental aspects of process and technique that came to define his practice.
In the 1970s, Whitten’s experiments with the materiality of paint reached a climax – removing a thick slab of acrylic paint from its support, Whitten realized that the medium could be coaxed into the form of an independent object. Whitten used this mode of experimentation to challenge pre-existing notions of dimensionality in painting, repeatedly layering slices of acrylic ribbon in uneven fields of wet paint to mimic the application of mosaic tessarae to wet masonry. Over the course of a five-decade career, Whitten’s work bridged rhythms of gestural abstraction and process art, arriving at a nuanced language of painting, which hovers between mechanical automation and intensely personal expression.
Explore pieces by one of abstract art’s greatest creators, Jack Whitten, on closing day of "Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963–2017” at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Admission to the exhibit is included with regular-priced museum admission, which ranges from $10 to $17. MFAH members and children 12 and under may enjoy free admission.
Although we provide the utmost luxury at Riverwalk Apartments in Houston, Texas, we realize that you need to get out and socialize with those in your surrounding community. This event gives you the chance to do just that! Don’t hesitate to attend today!
Event Time/Date:
Sunday, May 26, 2019—12:15 PM
Event Venue Location:
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
1001 Bissonnet Street
Houston, Texas 77005